The Board of Directors and Staff of Pleasanton RAGE are extremely pleased to feature U18 ECNL Goalkeeper Sophia Brown, the 2016 CIF State Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year!

The award is based on the highest level of academics, success as an athlete (ECNL RAGE soccer, Foothill High School varsity basketball, and varsity lacrosse), community service, and leadership. Sophia has played for RAGE for 13 years and will attend Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo where she will major in Aerospace Engineering and play Division 1 soccer.

This honor is a repeat for the Brown family, as Sophia’s older sister, Phoebe, won the same award 4 years ago and will now graduate from Princeton University.

Last month I had the incredible experience of training with the U-18 U.S. Women’s National Team at the U.S. Soccer National Training Center in Carson, California. I had been scouted by the National Team coaches at the ECNL event in San Diego, and received an invitation to attend the training camp two days after we returned from this event. I was extremely excited to receive this opportunity–wearing the U.S. soccer crest and representing our country is a privilege that very few players receive, and I am honored to be one of them.

We arrived in Carson on Saturday, April 16th, and the rigors of camp began almost immediately. We had a training session that evening to get our legs moving after a long day of travel. It was amazing to be playing with 25 of the best players in the nation, and to see their abilities as well as their dedication to the game in action. That night, we were given instructions regarding various forms of health and wellness monitoring that we would need to perform. Every morning we were required to fill out a survey regarding our level of soreness and fatigue, level of stress, our moods, and any injuries we may have had. Additionally, we were required to monitor our resting heart rates, as well as take part in daily weigh-ins and hydration tests. With the high volume and intensity of our training sessions, we had to ensure that we were properly caring for and preparing our bodies.

Sunday morning we had fitness testing. We participated in four different fitness tests: a 20-yard sprint test, the arrowhead agility test, a vertical jump test, and the “Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test,” also known as the beep test. I did particularly well on the vertical jump test, with the third highest score on the team.

We had two training sessions a day–one in the morning and one in the evening. The other three goalkeepers and I began every session working with the goalkeeper coach until we were needed for drills with the rest of the team. The speed of play was very fast, and the sessions were extremely physical and competitive, which was a lot of fun for me. We also had team meetings every night to watch film, listen to scouting reports on our opponents, or talk about our plans for training the next day. The other goalkeepers and I would stay with the goalkeeper coach after the team meetings to watch film from our training sessions and analyze our technique. Some days, we also had extra training sessions while the field players rested.

Over the course of the week, we played 2 games. On Tuesday we played Long Beach State University and tied them 2-2. On Friday, we played the U-17 Women’s National Team, who were also in camp that week in Carson. The U-17 WNT is preparing for the U-17 Women’s World Cup in Jordan this Fall and have been in camp together and playing games fairly regularly, so it was a great opportunity for us to play a very skilled, well organized team. We ended up losing the game 2-1, but it was still a great experience.

I learned a lot when I was at camp, about the game and myself as a player. I am looking forward to hopefully being back in training camp with the National Team this summer. My goal is to travel with the team to Ireland in October to play in some international friendlies and earn my first cap!

Rage ECNL player Pippa Whitehand is one of ten to receive national H.E.R. coaching scholarship. H.E.R. (Health & Education Resources) is funded by the ECNL and is a platform in the Amazing Young Women campaign created to encourage, support and provide opportunity for young female athletes.

Hatch was named WCC Co-Player of the Year along with Santa Clara’s Sofia Huerta. BYU’s sophomore forward scored 11 goals and made three assists in conference play. Hatch led the league in points with 25, while Huerta came in second with 18 from eight goals and two assists.

Amos earned WCC Defender of the Year honors as the lone returning starter on the defense this season. She helped the Cougars shut out 10 opponents from her center back position.

Rockwood was named WCC Co-Coach of the Year along with Pepperdine’s Tim Ward. Rockwood led the Cougars to a 7-1-1 record in conference and clinched the title with a week to go in the regular season. The award is her fifth conference coach of the year award and is the second since joining the West Coast Conference in 2011. Pepperdine finished third in the conference, but was a top 15 team in the nation for the length of the season.

Amos, Hatch and Murphy were selected to the All-WCC First Team. Murphy scored four goals and made five assists in conference play. Senior forward Fernandes, sophomore midfielder Medeiros and freshman midfielder Phillips were selected to the All-WCC Second Team and freshman defender Taylor Campbell Isom earned All-WCC Honorable Mention.

Phillips and Isom were both also named to the All-WCC Freshman Team.

The Cougars earned an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament thanks to their regular season title and will play in the first round on Saturday, Nov. 15, at noon MT in Boulder, Colorado against the Colorado Buffaloes. The match will be streamed on CUBuffs.com.

Although soccer is “just a sport,” it has without a doubt shaped me into the person I am today. I started playing soccer when I was 5 years old. just a little mini Carlee. the first couple years, I was the littlest girl on the field, running around chasing butterflies while my pig tails bounced around. my parents cheered me on and were so proud when I just touched the ball. something clicked when I was about 8 years old. and when I say something clicked, I mean my competitive spirit. I all of a sudden wanted to win every game. I didn’t want girls to be better than me (even if we were on the same team

As I got older I understood the game more and I found what my strengths (and weaknesses) were. not to mention, I had the best coach and mentor. I credit Philippe Blin (and my parents) for most of the success that I have had in soccer. I played for a club team called Pleasanton Rage. that obnoxious orange team that stood out at tournaments. we were pretty much a group of ballers. from the time we were little tykes, we were known as the dream team. probably sounds like i’m bragging (i might be a little) but I really am just proud to be a part of such an incredible group of girls. we competed in competitive leagues, tournaments, and went to nationals twice. looking back on my Rage experience, I gained an incredible amount of life lessons. perseverance, hard work, practice, passion, fighting for my end goal- just to name a few. another HUGE take away has been the memories and lifelong friends I have made. I keep in touch with so many of my teammates, a few were even bridesmaids in my wedding. the countless hours of practice and traveling, goofing off in hotel rooms, painting sports bras and underwear for game day and team pasta feeds will never be forgotten. glory days people.

Throughout my club and high school days, I played ODP (Olympic Development Program). I got the chance to play at the local level, regional level, and national level. it was the coolest experience to play with girls from all over the country who just had an immense amount of talent. seriously skills pouring out of their ears. this was also a way for my future college coaches to know me as a player.

High school soccer. man, we had it good. I had a little bit of a rough start in the beginning but it was all meant to be. my soccer friends (the rage babes) and I tried out for the varsity squad our freshmen year. it was pretty intimidating trying out with seniors but I felt like we all had a pretty good try out. as I looked for my name on the list, I read through all my friends and didn’t see me. on the jv list, there read “Carlee Payne.” I ran straight to our car and cried. like not just i’m a little sad tears, but my life is over tears. I know this sounds super snotty since I made the jv team as a freshmen, but I was shooting for the stars. I set my goals high. I told my mom I was quitting soccer. she told me I could do what I wanted (with a subtle mom push to not give up). I ended up making myself go to that jv practice, so sad but very humbled. I asked the varsity coach why I didn’t make the team and he honestly (brutally honestly) told me I was too small and he didn’t think I would be able to hold my own. that was just fuel to my fire. I worked so hard the next couple weeks- becoming the most aggressive player on the field. scary feisty. we were only a couple games into the season when the head coach of the varsity team asked me to move up and play on his team. I was pretty pumped. pretty nervous. he started me in the first game and I scored two goals. all I wanted to say to him was “suck on that.” sorry but it’s the truth. I then started the rest of my career, but I never forgot that moment and the things I have learned. my high school team was talented. it was pretty much my whole club team. we went 21-1 my senior season (don’t want to talk about that 1. still not over it). but we were ranked number 1 in the nation by ESPN Rise. now I really sound like i’m bragging huh?

The day I got recruited for BYU. I remember my coach told me that the BYU coaches called him and wanted to set up a meeting with me because they were interested in having me play for them. at that time, I made my list of dream schools, and BYU wasn’t on the top 10. I had talked to some of the schools I wanted to play for and set up meetings with the coaches. I was in utah and figured I might as well see what they had to say. we met and seriously it was love at first sight. (not with the coahes- gross). I toured the school, the athletic facilities, met the coaching staff and all the girls. it. just. felt. right. there really is no other way to describe it other than it just felt like the place I needed to be. it felt like home. I told my dad I was going to commit there. he asked if I wanted to at least meet with the other schools to make sure it was the right choice and I said no. I canceled all meetings and committed to be a BYU Cougar. looking back, this may have been the best decision of my life. bold statement right? playing for this team and attending this university has changed me for the better. plus I met the man of my dreams who I will be married to for eternity. not a bad gig right?

My BYU soccer experience was one of a kind. it started off with a freshmen year of insane amounts of hard work, traveling lots, some girl drama, adjusting to the speed of the game, and last but not least the viral New Mexico vs. BYU game. yep.. poor #7 is me. my claim to fame is that I got beat up up national television. yikes.

Then ups and downs throughout the next couple seasons. so many memories and laughs with all of these girls. then came our senior season. I got married the summer before this season, so my support system was so much stronger. danny and I would go out multiple times a week and I would shoot on him. our class trained hard for this final year. we were playing amazing and beating all the teams we needed to beat. we won our conference and we were given a number one seed in the NCAA tournament. (if you don’t know soccer- only 4 teams are given a number one seed- so it was pretty cool). at that time we were ranked number 2 in the country. the highest BYU soccer has ever been ranked. am I bragging again? shoot. we went to the elite eight! also the furthest we’ve gotten. we barely lost (to the team who won the whole thing). it was a hard loss but I was so proud of all we had accomplished. it felt good ending on such a high note.

With that being said, it was not easy to finish. I still get sad thinking how I will never play on a competitive team again. it still breaks my heart knowing I won’t get to see my 20 closest friends every day for 2 hours. I still haven’t found that immense passion for something that I had for soccer. it is sometimes hard going to a BYU soccer game and cheering on a team that I was once a part of. it has been hard finding my identity post soccer. I had surgery on both of my feet from ongoing problems. but I would never take it back for anything. in fact, I would do it all over. the exact same way. I will cherish the memories I have had for ever and ever. the friends I have made will be in my life till we are old and wrinkly. I gained such a strong relationship traveling with my parents every other weekend. soccer shaped me into the Carlee I am today.

If you are a young aspiring soccer player, please remember to NEVER give up on your dreams. always work harder than those around you. play with heart and passion. practice on your own. ask questions and learn the game. but most importantly, don’t forget to have fun. the memories you will make with your teammates and family will be memories that you will share with your grand kids. when it stops being fun, stop playing. seriously. one phrase I would always tell myself before every single soccer game I played was “walk off that field with no regrets.” this applies to all sports and all aspects in life. live with no regrets.

Box Score To deem the win historic might be a bit of a reach. But if the Chico State women’s soccer team plays the rest of the season like it did in a 1-0 victory over 24th-ranked Seattle Pacific Wednesday night, it is certainly one that the NCAA Championship Tournament committee will look back on at the end of the regular season.

Shelby Lanksbury notched her first collegiate goal Wednesday.

It was a night of firsts for the Wildcats. Head Coach Kim Sutton earned her first victory in a dozen attempts against the perennial West Region power. Shelby Lanksbury’s first collegiate goal was the game winner. And a number of Wildcats made their University Soccer Stadium debut in the 2014 home opener.Chico State improved to 1-1-1 with the win against a Seattle Pacific squad that had opened the season with a 2-1 win against UC San Diego. The Falcons fell to 1-1-0.Lanksbury’s goal was a team effort as no less than six Wildcats played a role. True freshman Pooja Patel – a revelation in her collegiate home debut – rolled a ball to Scroggins in the right corner to set the play in motion. Scroggins ripped a cross into the box that ricocheted out to Emily Shleppey. She slammed a low liner back into the mix that Megan Tabler got a boot on. The ball was deflected high into the air before Katie Brown headed it toward the goal. Linsdey Dias played it back deftly to Lanksbury, who hit a left-footed rocket inside the left post for the game-winner.Patel entered the match in the 33rd minute and the tenor of the match changed completely.Outshot 11-2 to that point, the speedy Patel paved the way as the Wildcats took control. Chico State enjoyed a 9-4 edge in shots and 4-1 advantage in corner kicks from that point forward.The shutout was the 20th of goalkeeper Brianna Furner’s career, tying her with Nicole Adams for second in Chico State history. Furner made a trio of saves, including a perfectly timed punch of a header ticketed for the upper-V in the 24th minute.

Megan Tabler

She was aided by a backline of Jojo Smyth, Brooke Coelho (both making their Wildcats home debuts), Scroggins and Halima Abdelshife. They limited Seattle Pacific to shots from distance for most of the evening.The victory was the 185th for Sutton at the Division II level, moving her to within one of the only other coach in the program’s history – Bob Russ – for 31st all time.The Wildcats will attempt to get Sutton even with her predecessor Sunday when they host Saint Martin’s at 11 a.m. All Chico Youth Soccer League players and coaches who come to the match in uniform will get in free.